And the Adventure Continues
by Andrew Joshua Talon
Summary: Because the DCAU is too depressing, and there's a few things we can do to keep it going. Definite AU, but only for a good cause!Chapter One: Revisiting Oracle...


**I know, I know-There are other fics of mine I should be updating. But, this wouldn't go away until I wrote it. So, here goes!

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Batgirl leapt effortlessly from rooftop to rooftop, grinning broadly in the moonlight as she raced above Gotham. Firing a zipline, she easily swung around a flagpole and came to a perfect landing atop yet another building. She set one booted foot on the edge of the roof, her gaze chasing for the horizon among the endless sea of skyscrapers and apartment complexes.

"_Batgirl, come in. You there?" _Barbara tapped the side of her cowl.

"Yes Tim, I'm here," the redhead admonished quietly, but her smile remained. "Snuck down to the cave, did we?"

"_Alfred carried me,"_ the current Robin admitted. "_I still can't believe Bruce won't let me patrol. All I did was break my leg."_ Batgirl rolled her eyes. Tim was beginning to develop that "Bat-stubbornness" that Dick seemed to have gained while being raised by Bruce.

"All you did, huh?" She sighed. She paused.

"Help! Somebody, please, help!" Batgirl turned and made out the shape of a blonde woman in a trenchcoat, with two thugs bearing down on her. Batgirl grinned.

"_What is it?"_ Tim asked. Batgirl smirked.

"Hero time, Boy Wonder. Call you back, out," Barbara stated, before leaping from the rooftop, a de-cel line fired ahead of her to slow her descent. Batgirl released the grapnel launcher and grabbed the heads of the two hoodlums, slamming them together and flipping as though doing a routine on the saddle horse. She landed gracefully between the woman and the collapsing goons, assuming a fighting position before the two had even finished falling to the pavement.

"Man, is this all?" Batgirl shook her head despairingly.

"Not at all, Bratgirl," A familiar voice crooned behind her. Batgirl instinctively swung around, but it was too late-She felt the heavy mallet slam against her spine, forcing her forward. She cried out in pain, and fell to the pavement in a rattled heap, groaning. The impact had knocked the wind out of her, and her backbone felt twisted…

"NO HARLEY! You MORON! I wanted the BIRD!" Shouted an equally familiar voice. Batgirl looked up through hooded eyes at the glowing red eyes and snarling face of the Joker. She could hear Harley's whimpered apologies from behind her, but could not move. The blow… How could it stun her so easily?

"Well… Maybe it's not a total loss," Joker considered, an evil grin on his hideous face. He pulled out a gun from his purple coat, and leveled it at her head.

"One more kid to hang on the wall, eh Harley?" Joker cackled. He pulled the trigger, and the shot rang out.

As though in slow motion, Batgirl watched the bullet leave the gun. She was moving, shifting, trying to get out of the way… But it didn't matter.

She felt the bullet enter her exposed lower back, heard her loud scream, saw the Joker's sadistic grin…

Before it all went black.

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The Batmobile roared through the city streets noisily, every turn firing a grapnel, every grapnel burying itself into the walls of the Gotham urban canyons.

Batman didn't care about the chaos he was now wreaking. He didn't care about the cries of outrage doubtless following the black car.

The Batsignal had been lit… But was distorted. As though something were strung over it. The police alert about the Joker taking over the central precinct added to his fears. Batman prepped the ejector seat system, setting it to take him right to the rooftop once in position.

The police blockade surrounding the building could not have been more surprised when the Batmobile screeched to a halt just before plowing into the growing crowd of spectators. The Batman suddenly blasting off out of it and to the top of the held building surprised them even more.

But Batman did not care. Batgirl was missing, and now the Gotham Police HQ was being held by the Joker. Batman did not believe in coincidences.

He ejected the seat and spread out his cape, landing in a crouch on top of the roof. The Batsignal was lit, the roof was clear…

"No," he murmured, rushing over to the Batsignal. After quickly checking the assembly for boobytraps, he angrily slashed the bindings holding the prostrate and bleeding Batgirl to it. She gingerly took her into his arms, her small form feeling uncomfortably still.

"Batgirl… Batgirl! Wake up!" He hissed, checking her vitals but his eyes locked to her closed eyes. Her pulse was there, but faint-Her breathing was so soft he could barely hear it.

And now, the Batsignal was turning towards him of its own volition. He squinted against the bright light, and began to move, even as the mad laughter of the clown responsible for this filled the air.

"_Hope you've got everything you need, Batsy! Because it's a loooonnnnggg way down! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!"_ Batman ran, as fast as he could, and leapt off the rooftop just before the Batsignal exploded, turning the police HQ's upper six stories into a fireball. The shockwave sent Batman tumbling through the air, his precious cargo still held tightly against his chest, before he managed to pull his grapnel gun from its holster and fire it, the zipline snagging onto a gargoyle high above. He swung, grunting in the effort needed to keep the force from yanking his arm out of its socket…

_SKRASH!_ Through the window back first, Batman grit his teeth against the agony of glass shards digging through his cape and into his skin. He rolled across the carpeted floor of the office building, keeping Batgirl wrapped up as best he could. He grit his teeth, before getting up to his feet. Slowly, struggling to ignore the pain, he made his way to the other side of the floor, windows facing yet another skyscraper. Slamming an explosive charge onto the closest pane, Batman upturned a heavy wooden desk and took cover.

_BOOSH!_ Seconds after the detonation, Batman emerged from his improvised bunker and leapt forward through the gap, firing a grapnel behind him as he flew down to the street alley below. The Car waited for him, summoned by remote, and he leapt into the vehicle and sped for the closest medical facility he knew of…

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**Okay, here's the thing: I think that the DC animated universe should be less depressing. The question is, how can this be accomplished?**

**Simple! Take the best parts from the comics and integrate them into the series! **

**Firstly, Barbara becoming Oracle brings the Batfamily closer together, not to mention allowing the JLU to be better organized and less susceptible to attack/invasion/mind control/etc. **

**Secondly, we get the Birds of Prey with Supergirl in it (because I don't think she'll be as willing to stay in the future if Oracle doesn't have to go through the Joker's last sick scheme and stays her friend), which lets Barbara take care of stuff on the side so that the JLU is not seen as making a bid for world domination. Well, not as much…**

**Thirdly, this version of events keeps Tim Drake from being turned into Joker Jr., which leads Tim (and eventually everyone else) to leaving Bruce, which leads to Bruce becoming the old, bitter bastard we see in _Batman: Beyond._ And Tim later turning into the Joker's host, angst, angst, angst, blah, blah, blah…**

**Fourthly, Young Justice, the new Teen Titans, and the Outsiders have the chance to be formed. Again, making the world's governments a little less edgy about just one big old superteam possibly ruling the planet.**

**And finally: The chance to see some of our favorite comic heroes on the screen at last. The pieces of the puzzle are already there:**

**Powergirl A reformed Galatea. Duh.**

**Superboy An attempt by Lex to create a younger body for himself using his and Superman's DNA. But, he ditched him in favor of the Amazo-body. So, Superboy could be waiting somewhere in a lab, hidden, and waiting to be brought out of stasis.**

**Batgirl II Cassandra Cain, accompanying her father to Gotham, paid by (insert evil villain's name here) to kill Batman. She meets Robin, they bond, Cain Sr. is defeated and left alive by Batman, Cassandra decides to stay with Robin, and happiness and warm fuzzies ensue! … I did _not_ just say that…**

**Impulse and other speedsters Bart Allen, Wally West's cousin from the future. With all the time travel craziness we've already seen, Impulse being sent back in time to learn how to be a hero from his cousin would not be a stretch. Not to mention all the other speedsters that could potentially pop up. Bloody Hypertime!**

**Arrowette Well, we saw Speedy didn't we? Why not Arrowette? **

**Lady Shiva An old "friend" of Black Canary's, who, through Oracle, agrees to train Tim for purposes of her own. Ooh, sneaky!**

**Wondergirls I/II In the comics, the first Wondergirl, Donna Troy, had a… _complicated_ backstory, to say the least. For the animated version, we can make things easier. Like this: Donna Troy here was an Amazon who had left Paradise Island as a little girl and made it to Jump City, and later joined the Titans. Trying to keep her Amazonian heritage a secret, she was found out by Diana (Wonder Woman), but allowed to stay in "Man's World" (Buh?), changing her codename to "Troia". The new Wondergirl, Cassie Sandsmark, can be created the same way she was in the comics, since her backstory's a lot less convoluted. Here's a link: ****http/yjfan. if you guys want me to continue this, I'm going to need ideas on how! R&R, and don't be shy!**


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